Indian women cricket team has won something priceless this time: The people’s support
Shah Rukh Khan's famous dialogue from his movie, Baazigar, “…haar kar jeetne waale ko baazigar kehte hai…” (sometimes you have to lose something in order to win) perhaps best defines the Indian women cricket team's performance in the just-concluded ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match at lord’s, where the Indian team lost to England by just nine runs in the final. The Indian team was inching towards victory but lost nerves in the end. Though this was not the first time that the women in blue landed up as a runner-up, but certainly, a major achievement has been made. With their stupendous performance right from the beginning of the World Cup match to the end, what they have earned is indeed priceless: They won over the hearts of the public — thousands of cricket fans remained glued to the television as the women in blue thronged the lord’s stadium. Moreover, there wasn't even utmost resentment when the team lost to England. The buzz around women playing cricket was never felt louder, as it was this time. Besides, such spectacular rise in the fan base definitely signals towards a gradual overcoming of gender barriers. A large part of the success of the team can be attributed to the collective effort of the fairly new team. While Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami are names that have been known for years, the new squad, which consists of ace players like Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur, did not lag behind in their performance. While Mithali Raj topped the list with 409 runs, Punam Raut and Harmanpreet Kaur did not lag far behind and accounted for 381 and 359 runs respectively. Besides, Harmanpreet Kaur's 171 off 115 balls in the World Cup semi-final was surely a major feat that led to India's entry into the final. While these are individual success stories, but when connected, they can be best defined as ‘commitment' ‘perseverance' and ‘dedication'. Never mind the loss, the women surely showed their mettle.
Meanwhile, it must be accepted that the women cricket team has come of age. They have fought institutional, attitudinal and generational odds to set an example for young players to chose cricket as a career option. But all this while they have fought all alone. In light of this, it will be interesting to see how cricket officials harnesses upon the potential shown by them. Whether there is any follow-up or not is yet to be seen. That there is no lack of talent is for sure. What is lacking is the commitment to hone their skills. Already, the Indian women cricket team captain has said that the time is ripe for the introduction of Indian Premier league matches for women. But IPl matches for the men’s cricket team has been mired in controversies and any new IPl-kind of tournament must keep these away. What is now expected is that there will be better facilities and more incentives for women in blue, at par with what the men get.